‘I just want a normal life again’

Nick Broderick, who came to the UK as a baby in 1962, has been fighting for the past four years to prove his legal status.

He was working for a recruitment company in Dunstable when his office was subject to an immigration check.

“I wrote to the Jamaican embassy, I sent £70 to get a birth certificate. That didn’t happen 3 or 4 times… So they gave me these papers to fill out and after I filled it out, they said to me ‘I’m sorry, we seem to have lost the papers that you sent in and so now you’re going to be deported’,” he told Radio 4’s Today programme.

In the months that followed, Mr Broderick had to report to the police station every month, could not work or use his driving license.

He said he knows others, in a similar position, who have been seriously ill with cancer and denied NHS treatment.

“It was an awful, awful time” which sent him “into a spiral of depression”, he said.

“I always thought myself as being English. I just want to have a normal life again,” Nick added.

‘Nearly destroyed him’

Image copyrightHELEN CAPPASSOImage captionWhitfield Francis – here with his eldest daughter Maria – came to England with his parents at the age of nine

Whitfield Francis was born in Jamaica in 1958 and came to England with his parents at the age of nine.

He only realised there was an issue over his right to remain in the UK when he tried to change jobs four years ago and was unable to provide proof of his status – something he didn’t have – and he hasn’t been able to work since.

The father-of-four says he can’t afford to pay for a biometric residence permit or for legal assistance.

“No-one has given me any help,” the 59-year-old said.

“If I haven’t got these certain documents, my children could be affected. They may not be eligible for a British passport although they were born in Britain.”

His former partner Helen Cappasso says the situation “nearly destroyed him” and being unable to provide for their four children has “broken his heart”.

“I cannot express here what a nightmare it’s been, and it’s not over yet,” she said.

Mr Francis, who is currently “sofa surfing” in Birmingham as he is unable to rent somewhere to live, said the government’s pledge to help those affected has given him renewed hope that he would finally be able to work again.